Popular Catholic devotions once filled churches and were always part of one’s faith life in the course of the week.

People prayed the Rosary regularly, attended novenas, did consecrations to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary, venerated sacred images and relics and wore religious medals or a crucifix.

Much of that has waned in the last 40 years.

But this Year of Faith presents Catholics with the perfect time to bring back the popular piety and devotions that were never meant to be forgotten or ignored.

In 2001, when Blessed John Paul II addressed the plenary meeting of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, he said: "Genuine forms of popular piety, expressed in a multitude of different ways, derive from the faith and, therefore, must be valued and promoted."

This faith-focused year gives us the chance to revive beloved devotions.

Father Andrew Apostoli, a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal and EWTN television host, gives some reasons why.

"We’ve been blessed with this Year of Faith in which we’re being encouraged to renew our faith and grow in it so that our relationship to God will deepen and our growth in holiness will be strengthened," he said. "As the Council of Trent said: Faith is the beginning, foundation and the measure of the Christian life."

Father Apostoli explained that we can only love God to the degree we believe in him and the degree God becomes very real in our lives through the truth the Church teaches.

Although we entrust our lives to God as Catholics, the priest added, "because we are creatures of body and soul, we need concrete expressions of our faith that make the things we believe in that are unseen become somewhat more tangible through external signs and helps to our devotion. This is why we have devotions in the Catholic Church."

Continued Father Apostoli: "We need these expressions so that the mysteries or teachings of our Church do not remain merely intellectual beliefs. They must affect us in our whole being, and that’s where devotion is such a strong impetus."

For example, we believe by faith that Jesus is in the Blessed Sacrament and that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the supreme act of love and adoration of God because it is Christ renewing his sacrifice on the cross.

But we have devotions like Benediction and Eucharistic adoration to foster a deeper personal union and love for Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

"We also believe by our faith that Christ suffered and died on the cross for our salvation. So when we practice a devotion like the Stations of the Cross, our love and gratitude for Christ’s suffering grows immensely because the practice of the Stations of the Cross helps us to recognize in a more personal and concrete way what Jesus actually went through in his suffering and death," Father Apostoli explained.

"Through faith, we also have great love for the Blessed Mother because of her part in the plan of salvation, both through the Incarnation, in which she conceived Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, and also by her role at the foot of the cross in joining with Christ and his sufferings for our redemption — and now as an intercessor of grace for all of her children," he said.

"When we pray the Rosary she herself has asked for so many times at Fatima or honor her with other devotions, such as the May crowning, our personal love and piety for Mary as our Mother and intercessor becomes more concrete in our lives."

At the same time, we use our statues of the Blessed Mother and the saints to remind us of who they are, just as we use photos of our loved ones. We don’t worship the statues, just as we don’t worship the photos of loved ones. Statues and other images of saints remind us of the people we honor and love but who are now hidden from our eyes in heaven.

"Same goes for wearing the Miraculous Medal, the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and other similar religious symbols of the faith that we use to remind us of God’s presence and protection on our lives or to seek protection of Our Lord and his holy Mother," Father Apostoli said. "The novenas we make in preparation for feasts such as Divine Mercy stir up the working of the Holy Spirit in us through our personal piety. Our personal piety then will enliven our commitment to the mysteries of the Catholic faith."

As pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Norwalk, Conn., Register contributor Father Greg Markey has found that popular devotions play an important role in the lives of Catholics.

He explained that, while priests have the Breviary to sanctify their days, the laity have the sacramental practices of popular piety to sanctify their days and keep a prayerful spirit throughout the week.

"By doing the various devotions during the week, it’s a concrete way the laypeople can consecrate time and the day," he said.

"People find so much nourishment from novenas in parish life," he said. "We have the Miraculous Medal novena every Monday. We get such a large crowd for it, and people get so much nourishment from that."

The novena is always conducted before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. Benediction follows, after which the faithful venerate the relic of St. Catherine Labouré.

Every year on July 16, Father Markey offers enrollment for the scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. All the first Communicants are enrolled in the brown scapular as part of their first Communion Mass as well.

"All these devotions are ordered toward the Mass and enhance the Mass," Father Markey explained. "Those doing these practices get more out of the Mass because they are preparing their hearts and souls outside the Mass with these devotions."

St. Mary’s parishioner Elizabeth Anne Elfreich attests to the faith and spiritual benefits of popular devotions for herself and her three sons and two daughters, ages 8 to 14.

She and the children attend daily Mass, where the boys are altar servers. They pray the Rosary with other parishioners daily after Mass.

Elfreich finds this practice "builds strength in (their) devotion, and the children learn the scriptural readings and the mysteries as different people read them."

She noted their practice of praying the Rosary after daily Mass has "brought my children closer to God and to each other. It’s given them perseverance and patience when they don’t want to do it."

Regularly attending the Stations of the Cross the last three years has also benefited the family. They also attend the weekly novena.

Elfreich said she never had the opportunity to venerate a relic in her former parish in New York. Being able to venerate a saint’s relic is a wonderful opportunity, she said, as is the pious custom of the blessing of throats on St. Blasé’s feast day.

"I’ve seen my children in the last four years grow in faith and knowledge, connecting the relics of the saints to the way they live their lives," she said. "Those saints are an example for children to emulate."

Roberto De Menezes, also a St. Mary’s parishioner, said he and his wife, Alejandrina, and their 14-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son have also grown strong in the faith through regular popular devotions.

De Menezes finds they are walking with Jesus through the Stations of the Cross. On Monday evenings, the family regularly attends the Miraculous Medal novena as part of their devotional routine.

"God is helping us to grow in the faith. The Blessed Mother gives us a lot of grace," he said. "The children are growing closer to the Blessed Mother because of it." His son is an altar server.

This regular attendance and Father Markey’s prompting inspired them to go on a pilgrimage to the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Philadelphia. Visiting shrines is another devotional practice of popular piety.

In their own parish, they find venerating the image of St. John Vianney "helps us to pray for the priests," De Menezes said.

"We pray together at home as much as possible, usually a Rosary every day," he explained. "We celebrate all the feasts, those of the Blessed Mother, like Our Lady of Guadalupe. And before dinner at home we see the Last Supper picture, and we pray the grace before meals. Even in a restaurant, we do a little prayer before meals."

"Devotions are our daily weapon to fight against evil," he stressed.

The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments lists many of these devotions in the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, including a traditional blessing of the family table and food for Easter Sunday: "Mention must be made of the traditional blessing of eggs, the symbol of life, and the blessing of the family table. … The head of the household or some other member of the household blesses the festive meal with Easter water, which is brought by the faithful from the Easter vigil."

The directory also states: "The magisterium … highlights the importance of popular piety for the faith life of the people of God, for the conservation of the faith itself and in inspiring new efforts at evangelization."

Angela M, Christ said to Peter the first Pope, “Whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven”, This is known as the Power of the Keys. The Pope has the right and obligation to make disciplinary laws for our salvation. Today we still have the disciplinary law that it is a mortal sin to miss Mass on Sundays and Holy days of obligation through our own fault. Sunday because it is the day Our Lord rose from the dead, the Lords day. Friday, because Christ died on that day, is still oficially a day of penance for our sins and we are obligated to do penance, no exceptions. Ven. Pope Paul Vl removed the penalty of mortal sin from eating meat on Fridays but added, “My people please keep this Holy Practice”. So your Mother was right, if she deliberately ate meat on Friday before the early 70’s she would have been in a state of mortal sin and if dieing unrepentant would have lost her soul. Pennance on Friday remains a serious obligation binding all Catholics.

Posted by Angela M. on Monday, Apr, 1, 2013 11:45 PM (EDT):

My mom was brought up in the pre-VatII church - they learned about sin alright…she was convinced she was going to straight to hell if she ate meat on Friday. Wrong.

Posted by DeCarlo on Monday, Apr, 1, 2013 6:44 AM (EDT):

Angela, I was brought up pre=Vatican II. We were taught the faith in its strictist form. Today, the teaching are watered down, so as not to offend people. If a priest saw that the whole congregation went to communion and the confessional lines had 2 people in it, he would address at the pulpit. These priests today don’t say one word about it. Pre-Vatican II clerics talked about the devil, evil, mortal sin, hell, etc. unlike today. Even the church has become politically correct.

Posted by Traditio on Monday, Apr, 1, 2013 2:27 AM (EDT):

Angela M, You always hear of those who made up sins. I have heard of that too. Not all made up sins, most confessed their real sins. Today we have a for sure diabolical sin. Many go up to receive Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin. Many say, “I do not go to confession because I do not have any sins”. Bl. John Paul ll asked the Bishops of the USA, “Why are your communion lines so long, and your confessional lines so short”

Posted by Angela M. on Sunday, Mar, 31, 2013 8:31 PM (EDT):

You hear about long confession lines pre-VatII, yet I always hear about people who made up sins to confess because they didn’t have any to tell. That shows a real lack of understanding of the sacrament pre-VatII.

Posted by Traditio on Sunday, Mar, 24, 2013 12:03 AM (EDT):

For more than 30 years the sacramental devotions of the Church have enriched my life. These devotions always have as their origins the Gospel, which enriches our appreciation for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. My wife and I started our own family tradition for Christmas eve, which our children, now grown always look forward to. In our home on that great eve we have in our home a procession with the Infant Jesus, all lights turned off with the only light being that of blessed candles, symbolic of Christ light of the world. We pray the Rosary during the procession and I the father give meditations of Christ and Our Lady concerning our salvation, responsibilites to God, Gods great mercy ect… At the end we venerate the Infant Jesus. Then all are allowed to open their gifts, which we refer to as gifts from the Magi. My wife had this similar tradition in her family, I only re-made it with some of the essentials from my wifes family tradition. Today my children because of this devotion, still remember what Christmas is all about. We need these devotions in our daily lives, they set us apart from othe religions as we remember God 24/7 and not just on Sunday. How I wish that all the old devotions of the Church be revived for the sake of eriching our spiritual lives.

Posted by Ann on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 11:55 PM (EDT):

Many of the novenas praticed today and the rosary can be found on CDs that can be done while driving to anywhere.Many people work different shifts and have numerous activities with their children,which makes it impossible to attend during the week compared to how it was 20 or 30 years ago.People can record them from EWTN and not have to attend any church to do a rosary or novena.I believe the author of this article never researched this information,or else many people would have been better informed of the choices by which to go about a novena or rosary.

Posted by Tim on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 10:13 PM (EDT):

To argue with a conservative is no easier than to argue with a liberal. My mother was born out of wedlock and there wasn’t a day her parents didn’t remind her of it. My father never had a compliment, but insults flowed like water, and don’t get me started on my wife’s father. I pray for all there souls. Where sin is found - grace abounds all the more. This is all I know about Pre and Post VII. So when you insult Pope Francis know also you are attacking the hope of redemption.

Well written.Especially noted that Obama would never have been elected if catholic voters would not allow the impact the godless man and his group or forcing on all of us.

Posted by Joe DeCarlo on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 2:29 PM (EDT):

Sam schimitt, The church was very healthy pre-Vatican II. The attendance rate at mass was about 80%, the seminaries, convents, and Catholic schools were full. Confessional lines were long. We had a very small group who were considered cafeteria Catholics-many today. Obama could never had mustered 50% of the CAtholic vote pre- Vatican II.

The modernists have been trying to infiltrate the church since before Pius X was pope. He wrote extensively against modernism. Finally, with the election of Pope John XXIII, the modernists got in. Ergo, the downfall of the church.

Posted by Joe DeCarlo on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 2:24 PM (EDT):

Sam Schmitt, you are correct, the 60’s revolution had a lot to do with it. But the Church in 1962 said that they had to update the church so that they can get in better communication with modern man. I guess the teaching of Jesus were outdated.
This was written by Bishop Sheen in 1934. Taken from “The Eternal Galilean. “...the modern prophet, it was told,would rather be up-to-date than right, rather be wrong than behind the times. Our Blessed Lord upset this spirit by dwelling not on timely topics, by buy eternal truths. He taught in such a manner as to disprove forever His ideas were suited for His Times, and therefore, unsuitable to any other. He never used a phrase that made His philosophy dependent on the social order in which He lived;He never made His morality dependent on the existence of the Roman Empire, or even the existence of the world. ’ ” Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will not pass away.’ “

Posted by BMCD on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 1:54 PM (EDT):

Pope Francis I is winning hearts and minds through his pastoral gestures. Give him a chance to prove that his papal approach is what the church needs after the painful scandals of the past few years.

Posted by Rod on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 1:20 PM (EDT):

If a pastoral council results in a pastoral disaster what more can be said but that it was a failure.
The sooner the church clergy admit this and begin a restoration the better.
Start with the coasecration of russia as asked at fatima and follow up with a pius ix condemnation of modern errors, and the rest will fix itself—-
But with our new granola-pope it seems the devistation will continue a while longer.

Posted by Sam Schmitt on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 10:26 AM (EDT):

@Joe deCarlo:
All the bad things that happened after Vatican II cannot be blamed on it.
If you look at the history of the Church, the time after ecumenical councils are often tumultuous - the Council of Nicea did not end the Arian heresy, and can the can the wars of religion in Europe (late 16th - 17th centuries) be “blamed” on the Council of Trent? These councils did not fix all problems in the Church within 50 years!
.
Plus there were many other factors at work in society and in the Church in the 1960s and 70s - the sexual revolution, Marxism, secularism, etc. so it’s a bit simplistic to blame it all the Church’s woes on a single event. Plus you have to wonder how healthy the Church really was in the mid-20th century if things could go downhill as fast as you say they did. Many seeds of the future problems were already present before the Council: modernism, clericalism, Jansenism, to name a few. It’s too easy to blame it all on the Council.

Posted by Joe DeCarlo on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 9:47 AM (EDT):

It wasn’t a failure? Tell me the successes. Secondly,according to Catholic dogma, (Vatican II was a pastoral council) there is no salvation outside the Catholic church. So, according to that, Jews can’t be saved. That dogma was taken from Jesus who said the only way to the father is through me. Jews have rejected Jesus as the Messiah. The Jews of today, especially the Rabbis who are in communication with the Vatican, know the teachings of Jesus and have rejected them.

Posted by Russ on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 9:10 AM (EDT):

Vat 2 was a failure? No, it was not. The Catholic clergy and laity who wrongly attempted to promote their own ideas under the excuse of saying ” it’s Vatican 2” are the problem. Not the council. The way in which the Church has reached out to Jews and apologized for the anti semitism are wonderful fruits of the proper implementation of Vat 2. God bless Pope Emeritus Benedict and his predecessor Blessed John Paul 2 for their desire to rightly implement the Vatican 2 Council.

Posted by Joe DeCarlo on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 8:56 AM (EDT):

Vatican II destroyed many rituals in the Catholic church. Can anyone name a positive that came out of VatII which benefited the Catholics? empty churches, seminaries, convents, catholic schools, empty confessionals. Now, with this article empty piety and empty religious life.

The post-vatican clergy just won’t admit that Vatican II wasn’t needed but it was also a failure.

Posted by Russ on Saturday, Mar, 23, 2013 8:19 AM (EDT):

Great article Joe! It was seeing the tangible way that Christ suffered for me, while watching the Passion, that led to my return to the Catholic faith. I had been a devout evangelical, but I really believe that I had never been exposed to a visual tangible imaging of Christ’s Passion. My faith was devoid of physical visible signs and symbols of faith. Other than my bible and my pastors teachings and my own spontaneous prayers, my faith life was ethereal, out there, so to speak.
Becoming Catholic was just what my soul needed, craved and demanded . The devotions found in the Church are a treasure when discovered and used to draw our hearts to Him.
Thanks for this reminder!

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